The Nexus 6 is here. We just unboxed it. Here’s what you can expect to find inside when you pick yours up.
Mobile Phones
It seems like an AGE. We’ve been waiting for the Nexus 6 to arrive for so very, very long. The handset itself is rather special, as it represents yet another switch in the way Google is pitching its Nexus line of smartphones. Previously, the Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 were all about high-end specs and low-end prices, with savings made wherever possible (the camera, for instance).
The Nexus 6 is the polar opposite, however, packing in bleeding edge specs, what promises to be a very decent camera and –– lest we forget –– that insane QHD display. But all this high-end spec and hardware comes at a price, and you’ll know all about that price already: £499 for the base 32GB model. Still, it is worth noting the Nexus 6 is still quite a bit cheaper than the iPhone 6 Plus, the LG G3 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 4.
We’ll be publishing our full review early next week once we’ve had time to play around with and test the Nexus 6 fully. I’ve been using the iPhone 6 Plus for the past couple of months, and one of my initial impressions of the handset is just how much easier it is handle than Apple’s phablet –– it just feels more balanced in the hand. And this is a HUGE thing when you’re talking about handsets with larger than life displays.
Nexus 6 Unboxing: What’s In The Box?
The Nexus 6 is a BIG phone and, accordingly, so too is the box it ships in. Decked out in white with a red band around its centre, the Nexus 6 box is a very minimal affair with nothing actually on the box itself save for an embossed “6” logo on the front.
Next, you take a knife –– or something else equally sharp –– and slit the red band surround, which lets you slide the main compartment of the box out. Inside you’ll find the Nexus 6, perched on a mount, and below that some instructions, complete with a circular SIM-tray popper, and below that the handset’s fast charger and a USB cable.
And that’s pretty much it. The main event is the phone and once you take the plastic protective cover off the front of the handset and switch on the display you’ll see why: the QHD display is mesmerizingly bright, colourful and detailed –– it’s one of the nicest screens I’ve looked at all year.
My worst fear about the Nexus 6, however, was that it would be too big, that I just wouldn’t enjoy using it. I used a Nexus 5 all last year and felt that it was just about perfect with regards to size and weight, so for this reason I was rather dubious about the advent of a 6in Nexus. But once it’s in the hand it doesn’t feel all that big –– granted, I did switch from an iPhone 6 Plus –– and a lot of this is to do with its shape, it is blockier than the iPhone 6 Plus, and its rounded back panel, which rests nicely up against the palm of your hand.
I do find the iPhone 6 Plus way too skinny without a cover on, but the Nexus 6 –– with its chunkier profile –– feels perfectly natural in the hand, even if those with smaller hands might struggle to reach across its expansive display with one hand.
The handset itself looks and feels premium and has a nice gravity to it, which I’m appreciating more and more with each hour that passes. Google and Motorola clearly thought long and hard about how to make the Nexus 6, a large handset by anyone’s standards, accommodating in the hand. Yes, it is big. But it’s not so big that I find it cumbersome to use (unlike Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus without a case).
These are just some preliminary thoughts, as a noted earlier. My full review will be going live early next week. By then I’ll have a better idea about Android Lollipop, display performance, the camera, and how well the Nexus 6’s super-large battery performs.
I’m looking forward to testing this one quite a bit!
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Google
Google Nexus 6
Android Lollipop
Reviews
Richard Goodwin
16:42, 1 Dec 2014
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